Zero
by Eh Man
Summary: Just a pointless little ten minute fic When Zero first came to Camp Green Lake, having to dig a hole isn't his main concern. No slashsexprofanityMS


Author's Notes: Hi! This is just a quick fic, dedicated to my good friend Lani. This was thought up, written, and created to cheer her up. Lets hope it works! ^_^ Luv ya, hun!  
  
Just 'cause, you know, there is NOTHING else I should be doing right now...*shifty eyes*  
  
Reviews are always welcome; your feedback is always appreciated!  
  
Shout out to the Holes Posse: You guys are awesome! Rock on!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
"Boys, please give a warm, caring welcome to your knew roommate Hector Zeroni!"  
  
The boys of D-Tent glanced up from their game of cards, and saw their overly-cheery councillor, Dr. Pendanski, standing in the 'doorway' next to a short, dark boy with black hair sticking every which way in tiny curls. The boy had his head bent over so that some of the fluffy hair fell over his eyes, hiding them from view.  
  
A chorus of muttered 'hey's greeted the small boy. The boys immediately went back to what they were doing. The boy in the doorway showed no response.  
  
"Well, take good care of him, boys, he a bit younger then all of you, so show him where everything is, okay? Come to me; Hector, if there's a problem. Hector, are you listening to me?" Pendanski asked, he lively voice turning irritated, as the boy he was talking to showed no response.  
  
"Hector, look at me when I'm talking."  
  
The small boy slowly raised his eyes until the councillor could see them under his bangs. They were dark brown, and looked much older then the boy's years could explain.  
  
"Right. Well, I'll leave you boys to it, then!" Pendanski said quickly, and backed out of the tent, leaving the small boy alone with the rest of the teens.  
  
"Hey, you talk, kid?" A boy of medium height with blonde hair asked.  
  
"He didn't answer Mom, Barf Bag, I don't think he's gunna answer you." A boy in a baseball cap smirked.  
  
"Shut up, Squid." The boy named Barf Bag replied.  
  
"So, you ain't gunna answer us, huh?" A very large boy with dark skin asked him.  
  
"Hey, maybe he don't got nothing in his head, ya know?" One boy asked, who had tan skin and spoke with a hispanic accent.  
  
"Ignore Zero, he seems to be ignoring us fairly well, anyway. Stupid kid. He's probably too dumb to talk." A dark boy with large glasses.  
  
"Won't be hard, Zero probably has Zero for brains, too!" The boy named Barf Bag said.  
  
Zero said nothing, and sat down on the cot he was assigned to. This was going to be a long sentence.  
  
Obviously he had been listening to the stupid councillor. He wouldn't have stayed standing beside him if he hadn't. Of course he could talk. They wouldn't have sent him here if he couldn't. And the rest of them just insulted him. Now, if someone had asked him one good question...  
  
But no, they didn't. And they didn't think they had to, either.  
  
~*~  
  
The searing sun beat down on the boys' necks as they leaned over, scooping dirt into their shovels, and then throwing it up over their shoulder. Most of them dug with the practiced rhythm of having already dug hundreds of holes. Others were slower, and more unsteady. The orange jumpsuits blended in with the baked and crusted matter they were digging. Their skin, regardless of its original colour, all were the same colour: dirt brown.  
  
X-Ray leaned on his shovel, picking deftly at the white tape at the end. Overall, it had been a mostly quiet day, what with the new boy not speaking at all, and the goings-on around camp going as smoothly as they could with a camp full of juvenile delinquents.  
  
Speaking of the new kid, X-Ray realized he had heard virtually -nothing- from him all day. He didn't even remember seeing him during lunch, or this morning, either. The leader of D-Tent knew he was still in the tent only because there were seven dirt piles, and he remembered seeing him trek out to the place they were to dig with a green bucket hat pushed low over his head, and keeping a safe distance in front of the rest of the tent.  
  
And since they started to dig...Nothing. No complaining. No begging for water, after he had drunk it all. Not even the loud whining of the knowledge he had no water left that was to be expected. What if he had fainted? It wouldn't be the first thing something like that happened at Camp Green Lake during someone's first hole.  
  
X-Ray suddenly felt his stomach twist in guilt. If the kid had passed out, his own conscience would put the blame on himself.  
  
"Hey, Zero, you still alive?" X-Ray called, pulling himself out of his hole, and jogging slightly over to where Zero was digging. He stopped, stunned where he was at the end of Zero's hole.  
  
Zero was done his hole.  
  
It was barely after lunch, X-Ray himself was only three-quarters of the way done. Everybody else was nowhere near being finished. How the hell could the new kid be done so fast on his first hole?  
  
Zero himself was tired. So tired, he could barely feel his limbs. He was dizzy from the heat and sun; the constant digging didn't help the matter. The water supplied to him had been more then enough, much more then what he was used to, living on the street, but he had guzzled it about an hour ago. He thought just for once he'd treat himself, and drink all the water, just for fun. But now he regretted it as he had nothing to drink, and his mouth was dry and scratchy.  
  
Zero squinted up at X-Ray when he saw him appear over the edge of his hole. He had been taking a rest, leaning against the side of his hole, before attempting to climb out once more. He'd been having troubles climbing up the side, and couldn't seem to get a good enough hold.  
  
X-Ray leaned down and offered Zero a hand. X-Ray was beginning to think they'd been a bit too mean to the kid. All he'd done is not talk, not like he'd insulted them or anything. Oh well, the damage had been done. No going back on it now.  
  
Zero's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected show of friendship, then reached up and grabbed his hand. After pulling himself, with X-Ray's help, out of the hole, Zero blinked. The world spun around him, the sun and heat seeming a hundred times more oppressive. The colours of the world ran and faded into each other, swirling in a haze of confused dizziness. Just when Zero thought he was going to throw up, the spinning stopped, and everything went black.  
  
~*~  
  
Zero opened his eyes to the bright sun. He closed them immediately, ignoring the faint pounding in his head. Opening them once more, he gazed up at the clear blue sky fringed with clouds. Clouds? Hadn't he heard that there were never clouds at Camp Green Lake?  
  
Sitting up, Zero expected to see hundreds of holes spread out in front of him. What he did see, was a sparkling green lake, with weeds poking through the surface near to the shore, and Lilly pads, frogs, and even some sort of bird flying low over the calm waters. Stunned, Zero turned and looked behind him. There was a worn dirt path leading up towards a group of trees.  
  
Unsure of what to do, and disbelieving what he saw, Zero started walking up the path. He revelled in the shade of the trees, and wished immediately he had gone swimming in the lake. Oh well, he wanted to see what the path led to. After walking for about five minutes, Zero stepped out of the group of trees, and gazed at a town, looking straight out of a Western movie Zero saw once when he was younger looking in at an storefront's TV. As he stood in silence, his eyes wide, he barely noticed as a donkey leading a cart passed by him down the road until it stopped.  
  
"Hey there, young sir. Didn't think I'da find another Negro person like myself in this backwater little town." The man leading the donkey said, coming around and looking at Zero.  
  
The man wore a dirty white shirt and a worn brown vest. His pants were torn near the cuffs, and his black boots obviously had seen better days. He was a young man, and wore a straw hat as well as a large white smile.  
  
When Zero didn't say anything, but smiled uncertainly but sincerely at the unknown man so that he didn't take offence.  
  
"Oh, pardon me, I didn't make introductions. You must be from outa town. No wonder I didn't see you around here before!" The man said, his smile growing larger. He took off his hat and held out his hand. Zero shook it. "I'm Sam. Sam the Onion Man, they call me. I sell onions, you see."  
  
"And this here is Mary Lou. Oh, don't worry, ol' Mary Lou here wouldn't hurt a fly!" Sam laughed, and Mary Sue ruffled her head and scraped one foot along the ground.  
  
"My name is Hector." Zero said quietly and uncertainly.  
  
"Nice to meet ya, Hector!" Sam grinned. "How would you like to come into town with me and sell a few onions? Mary Lou's definitely takin' a liking to you!"  
  
Zero nodded, and Sam helped swing him up on to the cart filled with onions. From his viewpoint, Zero could see farther down the road, and enough to see that all the people walking around were dressed just as strangely as Sam. Suddenly anxious, Zero looked down at what he himself was wearing. He was shocked to see him in dark brown pants of some rough material, and a loose, cream coloured shirt. It was definitely a change from the orange jumpsuit he had been wearing. A welcome one, too.  
  
What the hell was going on?  
  
As Sam, Zero, and Mary Lou neared the centre of town, Sam started calling out what he was selling. Basically, onions.  
  
"Onions! Fresh Sweet onions! Get your onions here, the magical vegetable sent by god himself! Onions!"  
  
Zero resisted the urge to laugh at some of the things Sam called out, but the people of the town as they crowded around bought every word of it.  
  
"Oh Sam! Your onions cured the stomach aches my son's been having! And the doctor said he'd have to operate!"  
  
"I'm going hunting next week, need to stock up on your famous lizard juice, Sam! Wouldn't think of leaving without it!"  
  
"I'm finally feeling better, that sickness was really taking a toll on my stores profits, what with it sitting closed all this time, I can finally open it again! Thanks, Sam, I know it was your onion powder that did it!"  
  
They steadily moved through the centre of town, with Sam calling out "Onions! Fresh, sweet onions!" as they went.  
  
"Hector, my friend, we are nearing the schoolhouse. There's a very pretty lady who teaches there. You don't steal her from me, ya hear?" Sam told Zero, with a smile. Zero smiled back and nodded.  
  
As they came nearer to the old wooden building, Zero saw the door to the schoolhouse open, and young children stream out and crowd around Mary Lou and the cart; giggling and talking. A tall blonde woman stood holding open the door to the building, then carefully let it close, and then followed her students towards Sam and his cart. Her face lit up with a smile as she joined the group around the cart.  
  
"Good day, Miss Katherine." Sam said politely, taking off his hat. The children kept inspecting his wares and all the little signs portraying a different use of the onion.  
  
"Hello, Sam." Miss Katherine smiled. "Whose your friend?"  
  
"This is Hector. He's from outa town, and been following me around this morning." Sam said, helping Zero off the cart.  
  
"It is a nice day for a cart ride. Where are you from, Hector?" Katherine asked kindly.  
  
"Lubbock." Zero said automatically. Literally, he had lived in Lubbock. On the streets.  
  
Katherine's pretty face took on a thoughtful look. "Lubbock...Lubbock. A new place, right? Just official a few years ago. I've read the Lubbock newspaper, the Leader; I think it was a few times. We get different town's newspapers sent to the schoolhouse occasionally."  
  
"Er, yeah." Zero nodded, not quite sure what she was talking about, but willing to go along with it. Where the hell was he? Wait, WHEN the hell was he?  
  
"Well, thank you for the onions, Sam." Katherine said with a warm smile at Sam.  
  
"You're welcome, Miss Katherine." Sam said, gazing back at her.  
  
"We have to get back to the school house now. Nice meeting you, Hector. Goodbye, Sam." Katherine said, then she turned to Mary Lou, as if on a second thought. "And goodbye to you, too, Mary Lou, my dear."  
  
With one last look at Sam, Miss Katherine herded the children into the schoolhouse. Sam sighed, but smiled wistfully.  
  
"Well, Hector, that's all my rounds today. I'ma goin ta go back to my magical onion fields now," Sam said, grinning. But then he turned seriously back to Zero. "Where'd you like me to take you?"  
  
Zero thought for a minute, and then told Sam to leave him where he found him. Sam nodded.  
  
"Cummon, Mary Lou, just a little bit more now. Just back ta where we found our friend Hector here." Sam said, patting Mary Lou's nose.  
  
It took much less time for the group to get back through the centre of town then it did the first time. When Zero hopped down from the cart for the last time he smiled fully at Sam.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome, Hector. Feel free to drop by any old time, Mary Lou and I will be happy to see you!" Sam said, and with a wave, he and Mary Lou walked slowly down the road away from Zero.  
  
Zero gazed after them, then turned and walked back out to the lake, at the green brightness, the cool water lapping against the soft sand.  
  
Stretching out on the sand, Zero stared up at the blue sky. The blue sky, dotted with clouds. He watched as the clouds slowly drifted across the sky, then as they gradually sped up until they raced from one side of the deep blueness to the other. Zero felt himself get dizzy watching them, but he kept watching. The clouds gradually dispersed, until Zero suddenly realized no more clouds crossed the sky.  
  
He blinked.  
  
A harsh pounding came to his head, and Zero brought both hands up to his face and covered his eyes and groaned. The oppressive heat once more beat down on him. He no longer felt the warm, soft sand beneath him, but hard dirt, crusted and baked from years of no rain in the hot sun.  
  
"Zero. Hey, Zero, you okay?" Someone was asking.  
  
"Shut up Ziggy, he's trying to wake up!"  
  
"Yeah, I know! I'm just trying to help the kid!"  
  
"Hey guys, cool it. Mom's coming."  
  
"What's the problem here?" Came a bright, authoritative voice.  
  
"Zero passed out. He finished his hole, first."  
  
"What?!?"  
  
"Yeah, he got done before any 'o us. His first hole, too."  
  
"He's a friggin mole."  
  
"No, an earthworm."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"No wonder he fainted. He dug so freakin' fast, man."  
  
"Zero, are you alright?" Pendanski asked, not sounding as if he really cared.  
  
Zero opened his eyes slowly, and sat up. He ignored the swirling world, and hoped he didn't throw up.  
  
"Zero?"  
  
"I'm fine." He whispered.  
  
"It talks!" Zigzag literally shrieked. Everybody glared at him, and Armpit pushed him into a hole.  
  
"THAT was the creepiest sound I ever heard. Anyway, can we get back to digging now? Mom, why don't you give Zero a ride back." X-Ray suggested calmly to Pendanski.  
  
"Good idea, Rex. Come on, Zero." Pendanski said gaily.  
  
As Zero got in the car, and they drove back to the camp, Zero looked out the window, and he thought he saw Sam leading Mary Lou. He blinked, and he saw just the normal desert wasteland of the lakebed.  
  
It was just a dream, Zero told himself a dream. Well, he needed all the good thoughts and dreams he could get in this dismal place he was sentenced to for the next few years.  
  
As he walked back to his tent, Zero turned back for a final look out over the lake. Well, it could be worse. But it sure as hell could be better. Like for instance if he had a friend. Or family. Or his mom.  
  
But for the meanwhile, this would have to do.  
  
~*~  
  
-Eh, man 


End file.
